Coleman Award for Excellence in Community Service

Nominate a community leader today!

Nominations for the 2023 Coleman Award for Excellence in Community Service are now being accepted! The award will be granted at a dinner ceremony on November 16, 2023, as part of the IOP's annual Elected Officials Retreat.

Please download the nomination form here.

Submit the form online here.

If you have any trouble with the online submission, please contact Briana Mihok at bnd2@pitt.edu or by phone at 412-624-7792.

Introduction

The University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics recognizes that the collective identity of any region is largely demonstrated by the overall values and priorities embraced by the people who live there. In Southwestern Pennsylvania, we place significant value on individuals who have a strong commitment to serve the region. To honor one of our community’s greatest civic servants and to recognize those who have followed in his path, the Institute of Politics created the Morton “Moe” Coleman Award for Excellence in Community Service.

History of the Coleman Award

The purpose of the Coleman Award is twofold. It creates a lasting tribute to the Institute’s founding director, Moe Coleman, for the substantial and enduring contributions he has made to the Southwestern Pennsylvania region in the areas of public policy and governance, education, health and human services, and human equity. The award also recognizes elected and nonelected community leaders who, by personal example and sustained generosity, have made a significant impact in the region. Nominees for this award should be outstanding individuals whose leadership and efforts have advanced the quality of life enjoyed by the citizens of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Learn more.

Award Criteria

The award recognizes and honors an exceptional individual who makes community service a way of life. This individual must exemplify the best in community service through a sense of caring and responsibility for others and must do so in a way that connects citizens and solves community problems.

Specifically, the honoree is an individual who, over a sustained period of time:

• Gives freely and unselfishly of his or her time to community activities;
• Inspires others to serve and acts as a role model;
• Creates connections in the community that enhance coordination and collaboration in solving our region’s challenges;
• Has a positive impact upon the direction and success of community projects, programs or individuals; and
• Improves the lives of others.

To be eligible for the award, an individual must demonstrate significant and lasting contributions to the community beyond what is expected as a part of his or her professional life and/or demonstrate service to the community through participation on boards, volunteerism, and other activities that lie outside the scope of his or her current career.

2022 Awardees

John R. McGinley, Jr.
Chair, Board of Directors, Eckert Seamans
View bio

“What I learned early on was that Jack McGinley has an increasingly rare quality of leadership: he pays attention, listens carefully and considers the viewpoints of everyone at the table. People know that Jack will give them a fair and open audience and that he will share his wisdom from experience and will do so with a generous dose of humor and a knowing smile.”
- Lisa Schroeder, President and CEO, The Pittsburgh Foundation

Karen Farmer White
Education Consultant and Chair of the Seton Hill Board of Trustees
View bio

“Karen Farmer White is an incredible leader and a woman of great integrity who has devoted herself to improving the lives of others. A champion for students throughout Pennsylvania, Karen Farmer White has dedicated herself to improving education at all levels. ”
- Dr. Mary Finger, President, Seton Hill University

Past Coleman Award Honorees

Please note that the titles and organizations listed reflect the position held by the awardee when he/she received the award.